PREPARING FUTURE FACULTY TO ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING   

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) released its publication Preparing Future Faculty to Assess Student Learning, which describes a CGS "exploratory project," supported by the Teagle Foundation, "to encourage systematic integration of assessment skills and expertise into future faculty preparation programs."  It discusses the role that graduate schools can play "to ensure that improved assessment practices result in both greater accountability and enhanced teaching and learning environments in US higher education."  Equally important, the project references seven grants from the Teagle Foundation to prominent graduate schools to improve graduate training with respect to teaching.  To read more about the project and purchase the report, click here.

WHAT FACULTY UNIONS SAY ABOUT LEARNINGOUTCOMES ASSESSMENT 

The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment released its newest occasional paper

titled What Faculty Unions Say about Learning Outcomes Assessment, which summarizes the views on student learning outcomes assessment held by the leadership of three major national faculty unions-the

American Association of University Professors, theAmerican Federation of Teachers, and the

National Education Association. This paper addresses how organized faculties can contribute their ideas and fashion their practices to enhance student learning and educational attainment. It also addresses how to get members to become involved in assessment and negotiate the tension between assessment and accountability.  Most importantly the paper notes that for unions "to engage in a dialogue on the assessment of quality in higher education is itself noteworthy and bodes well for advancing the assessment and institutional improvement agenda."  Although the union representatives' positions "are fairly general, it is noteworthy that the unions have endorsed the value of assessment which promises to advance this important agenda on organized campuses."

Kapi'olani Community College (KCC) is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. With an enrollment of over 9,000 students, KCC is one of 10 campuses within the University of Hawa'ii System and one of seven community colleges. The institution specializes in programs related to culinary arts, business, hospitality, health, legal education, and the arts and sciences. KCC continually upholds its mission to provide open access to education and promote learning and success among its students in order to prepare them to meet rigorous baccalaureate requirements through a high quality liberal arts program. In order to uphold this mission, KCC uses an assessment cycle embedded within institutional and programmatic strategic plans that is composed of quantitative and qualitative inquiry to document its progress toward institutional goals and objectives, in which student learning remains at the forefront.

A key component of the improvement of student learning and the overall educational process at KCC is the ongoing assessment of learning outcomes. In particular, the institution assesses student learning related to the general education curriculum, degree and certificate programs, individual courses, and co-curricular and support units. Another aspect of its efforts to assess the educational process is participation in the Community College Survey of Student Engagement in order to acquire data critical to understanding students' level of engagement within the curriculum and co-curriculum of the institution. 

In addition to gathering data related to student learning, KCC engages in regular use of its assessment data. Currently, the institution uses assessment data to improve both the academic programs themselves and the experiences students have within them. Through assessment of its academic programs, KCC has been able to establish more cohesive academic programs in which there is an intentional alignment between courses and student learning objectives within the programs.  Using assessment data in this way has allowed the institution to incorporate highly engaging experiences between students and faculty, such as service learning and undergraduate research, into current academic programs. 

In order to continue strengthening its student learning assessment efforts, KCC participates in two current initiatives with other institutions. First, KCC is part of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Assessment Leadership Academy.  By participating in the academy, KCC is able to share its work on student learning outcomes assessment with other participating institutions.  The institution is also able to share its assessment work as a member of Achieving the Dream, a consortium of colleges committed to improving student success at community colleges through data driven decision-making. To learn more about KCC, visit its Presidents' Alliance institutional profile.

PRESIDENTS DIVIDED ON WAYS TO ASSESS LEARNING 

The Alliance will be on the road again in early June.  Be sure to join us at the following events!

• June 5-7, 2011 - AALHE Annual Conference 
• June 9 - 11, 2011 - NASPA Assessment and Persistence Conference